Private Dining Sales Director

Overview

You're selling private chef experiences—multi-course tasting menus served in clients' homes, venues, or corporate spaces by Michelin-trained chefs. This is the first sales role at Vendador, a 9-person company that's built 400+ clients over 4 years with zero sales team. You'll be working a warm pipeline from their 100K social media following and existing referral network, plus doing your own prospecting into Chicago's corporate events market and wealthy individual networks.

Role Snapshot

Company Context

Stage: Bootstrapped / Pre-seed (no outside funding mentioned)

Size: 9 employees

Growth: Grew from founder's side project to 400+ clients in 4 years, entirely organic through social media and word-of-mouth

Market Position: Niche premium player in Chicago private dining—competing with other private chef services, high-end catering companies, and exclusive restaurant private dining rooms

GTM Reality

Pipeline Sources:

• 40% Inbound - Instagram/social inquiries from their 100K following, website form fills, people who've heard about them
• 35% Referrals - Past clients sending friends, corporate event planners recommending them
• 25% Outbound - You proactively reaching out to corporate events managers, luxury real estate agents, wealth managers, country clubs

SDR/AE Structure: No SDR. You do everything—qualify the lead, scope the event, build the proposal, negotiate, close, coordinate logistics with the culinary team.

SE Support: No SE. The founder/executive chef may join larger client meetings or venue walkthroughs, but you own the sales process.

Competitive Landscape

Main Competitors:

• Other Chicago private chef services (Cozymeal, La Belle Vie)
• High-end catering companies (Blue Plate, Food For Thought)
• Exclusive restaurant PDRs (Alinea, Smyth private dining)

How They Differentiate: Michelin-trained culinary team, fully customizable menus, they bring the entire experience to you (no restaurant required), strong Instagram/social proof.

Common Objections:

• "That's expensive" (comparing to regular catering, not understanding the white-glove service level)
• "Can we just do it at a restaurant?" (some clients don't see the value of in-home)
• "How do I know the food will be as good as photos?" (selling an intangible experience)

Win Themes:

• Previous client testimonials/photos (social proof is huge)
• Flexibility—they'll cook anywhere, customize any menu
• The founder's Michelin pedigree and personal involvement

What You'll Actually Do

Time Breakdown

Lead Handling (35%) | Active Deals (30%) | Prospecting (20%) | Logistics/Internal (15%)

Key Activities

• Qualifying inbound inquiries: Someone fills out a form or DMs on Instagram. You hop on a call to understand their event (anniversary dinner for 8, corporate board dinner for 20, etc.), budget, date, dietary restrictions. Half these leads aren't serious or can't afford it.
• Building custom proposals: Every event is different. You work with the chef to scope a menu (5-course vs 7-course, wine pairings, dietary accommodations), price it out, create a proposal deck. This takes 1-2 hours per serious lead.
• Prospecting corporate buyers: You're reaching out cold to corporate event planners, EA's to C-suite execs, luxury real estate brokers who host client events, wealth management firms. Explaining what Vendador does and why it's better than the caterer they used last time.
• Closing and logistics coordination: Once they agree, you collect deposit, coordinate on final headcount, communicate venue details to the chef team, manage client expectations on timing/setup. You're part salesperson, part project manager.

The Honest Reality

What's Hard

• Educating the market: Most people think "private chef" = overpriced catering. You spend time explaining the difference and justifying the premium price point.
• Inconsistent deal flow: Some months are packed (wedding season, holidays), others are slow. You're building the pipeline from scratch for the first time.
• Logistics complexity: Every venue is different (someone's condo kitchen vs a loft vs a backyard tent). If something goes wrong day-of (power issue, wrong equipment), clients blame you even though you're not on-site.
• High-touch, low-volume sales: You're not closing 20 deals a month. You might close 5-10 events/month, but each requires significant customization and hand-holding.

What Success Looks Like

• Booking 8-12 events per month consistently (mix of individual and corporate)
• Building a corporate client roster that books quarterly or annually
• Converting 30-40% of qualified leads into booked events
• Getting repeat bookings and referrals from happy clients

Who You're Selling To

Primary Buyers:

• High-net-worth individuals (milestone celebrations, intimate gatherings) - $200K+ HHI
• Corporate event planners (board dinners, executive offsites, client entertainment)
• Luxury real estate agents (hosting broker events or impressing high-end buyers)

What They Care About:

• Quality and presentation: This has to feel exclusive and look amazing (Instagram-worthy)
• Flexibility: Can you accommodate dietary restrictions, work in their specific venue, adjust timeline
• Ease: They don't want to think about it—you handle everything from groceries to cleanup
• Social proof: Have you done this before? Can they see photos/testimonials from similar events?

Requirements

• Experience selling premium/luxury services or events (not necessarily food, but you understand high-touch, consultative sales)
• Comfortable with longer, relationship-driven sales cycles and custom proposals
• Strong network in Chicago or ability to build one (corporate events, hospitality, luxury lifestyle)
• Self-starter mindset—you're building the sales process from scratch, no playbook exists
• Comfortable with a small, scrappy team where you wear multiple hats
• Food/hospitality background helpful but not required (you'll learn the product fast)